Stig of the dump on social media sites

They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure but people are taking this all too literally when it comes to selling unwanted items.

If you’re on Facebook I’m sure you’ll be familiar with these local buying and selling pages and if you aren’t you need to check them out.

Kate Mason, My Style column. Picture: Marie Caley D5417MC

The concept itself is genius - people can pick up a bargain without having to pay postage prices and those in need of a spring clean can make some money for their efforts.

It’s very similar to my favourite app Local eBay where you can pick up some amazing items from sellers right on your doorstep.

I’ve had some fantastic purchases from there including a beautiful bookcase (complete with 300 World War books - which I didn’t particularly want) all for the price of £26 - turns out the couple who were selling it paid £250 for the bookcase alone.

But people are taking advantage of these Facebook buying and selling sites that seem to have replaced the common dustbin when it comes to de-cluttering.

From old manky bread bins, clothes with rips in them to half used lotions and potions - it seems people will literally sell anything, including their self respect.

Please tell me who in their right mind would want to buy a half used tub of face cream that has probably been gathering dust at the back of a bathroom cabinet for a good few years?

If you would be embarrassed to take it to the charity shop don’t sell it online.

The sad thing is people are actually shelling out their hard earned money buying these random items.

It really is baffling - people even sell underwear on there!

As strange as I find this bizarre carry-on, I’ve found myself strangely addicted to it.

I find myself so intrigued by what rubbish people are trying to palm off that I can sit for hours trawling through the pages.

It’s like the digital equivalent of sifting through a rubbish dump without getting your hands dirty.

The poor dustbin men are going to be out of a job if this carries on.

The annoying thing is I tried to sell top quality merchandise on eBay - brand new designer dresses complete with tags and they didn’t even sell.